Apparatus for treating fabric by moisturizing



y 7, 1953 E. COHN ETAL 3,088,224

APPARATUS FOR TREATING FABRIC BY MOISTURIZING Filed April 23, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

NVENTORS NE COHN COHN CATALLO APPARATUS FOR TREATING FABRIC BY MOISTURIZING Filed April 25, 1958 May 7, 1963 E. COHN ETAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

W m I, m 3 3 k M 0 Ire-ll 2 AwJrv 2 1 o 2 wDHnDnn l 9 9 3 3 2 S m S RW V OOHA A N M R m C MP O E VNHK H WEEN A SA U R EJF 3,088,224 APPARATUS FOR TREATING FABRIC BY MGISTURIZING Eugene Cohn, Great Neck, Joseph Cohn, New York,

and Frank Catallo, Elmont, N.Y., assignors to Samcoe Holding Corporation, Woodside, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 23, 1953, Ser. No. 730,439 1 (Ilairn. (Cl. 34159) The present invention relates to the treatment of fabrics, and more particularly to novel and improved arrangements for the treatment of fabrics to impart thereto a desired moisture content.

It is well recognized in the textile industr and particularly in the knit goods field, that the moisture content of yarns and fabrics should be controlled and, at least for some purposes, should be relatively high. By way of example, some cotton goods desirably have as much as 8 percent moisture. To this end, many spinning and knitting operations are carried out in highly humidified rooms, so that the yarn or fabric, as the case may be, will not lose moisture but rather may gain a certain quantity of moisture.

In the finishing of fabrics, and particularly knit goods, the fabric may be put through operations, such as dyeing or bleaching, followed by drying and calendering, during which moisture control is lost and, almost inevitably, the finished material is lacking in the desired moisture content. Accordingly, for many years the industry has sought practical and effective ways of increasing the moisture content of finished or semi-finished fabrics, to the end that the fabric may have the proper softness and feel, proper conditioning for further processing, etc. However, prior attempts of which we are aware have been unsuccessful, as being ineffective or uneconomical or both.

In accordance with the present invention, a novel and improved method and means is provided by which fabric may be moisturized in a wholly effective, practical and economical manner. In general, the method of the invention involves passing fabric through a highly humidified atmosphere, and maintaining the moisture-laden atmosphere in a state of high turbulence during the passage of the fabric therethrough. With the new method, fabric moisture may be increased 2 to 3 percent in a short period of, for example, forty seconds, and the additional moisture thus imparted permeates all portions of the fabric, in the desired manner.

For carrying out the new method, a novel apparatus is provided, comprising a housing, forming an enclosure through which fabric passes, means for maintaining a highly humidified atmosphere in the enclosure, and means for maintaining the atmosphere in a highly turbulent state.

As one of the more specific features of the invention, the housing of the apparatus is highly compact and includes guide rollers for causing fabric to move sinuously from one end to the other of the housing, as is passes therethrough. The guide rollers are driven through novel slip drive means, whereby the fabric in the housing is urged in the direction of its movement but in such a manner as effectively to avoid stressing or stretching the fabric lengthwise.

For a better understanding of the invention, and for an explanation of further novel and advantageous features thereof, reference should be made to the following detailed description, and to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of apparatus of the invention used in carrying out the new method;

3,688,224 Patented May 7,, 1963 FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view taken on line 3-'3 of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 designates, generally, a housing having openings 11, 12 in opposite sides, forming an entrance and exit, respectively, for a web 13 of fabric. Advantageously, the housing 10 is of generally rectangular form and is of substantial height, in relation to its length and width, so as to occupy a minimum of floor space. By way of example, the housing may be about 8 feet in height, While having a length and width of between 3 and 4 feet.

In the illustrated apparatus, the housing 10 is of simplified construction, comprising an open frame 14, of angle members, which supports a plurality of wall panels 15-20, forming an enclosure. The fabric entrance 11 and exit 12 desirably form substantially the only openings in the enclosure, so that a controlled atmosphere may be readily maintained therein.

Adjacent the upper and lower ends of the housing 10 are provided sets of guide rollers 21, 22 which extend across the width of the housing and are mounted along the side Walls 19, 20, by plates 23 or the like. In accordance with one specific aspect of the invention, each of the guide rollers 21, 22 comprises a shaft 24, journalled at its ends, by suitable means such as anti-friction bearings (not specifically shown), and having sprocket means 25 whereby the shaft may be driven. Surrounding the shaft 24 is a cylindrical roller 26, which is supported on the shaft by means of spaced friction bearings 27, formed of graphite or other friction reducing material.

As shown in FIG. 1, the guide rollers 21, 22 at each vertical end of the housing are mounted in rows, and chains 28 interconnect the shafts of each row of rollers for rotation in unison. The top row of rollers is also connected to the bottom row, by chains 29, 30 and sprockets 3134, whereby the shafts of the respective rows rotate in opposite directions. Thus, chain 29 is trained about a sprocket 31, connected to the shaft of a lower roller, and about an idler sprocket 32. These sprockets are so positioned that a portion of the chain 29 passes over an arc of a sprocket 33 afiixed to the shaft 35 of an exit guide roller 36, located adjacent the exit opening 12. The arrangement is such that the shaft of the exit guide roller rotates in a clockwise direction (as viewed in FIG. 1), while the shafts of the lower row of guide rollers rotate counterclockwise. The exit roller shaft also mounts a sprocket 34, which drives the chain 30 trained about a sprocket on one of the upper guide roller shafts, so that the upper shafts are driven in a clockwise direction.

For driving the roller shafts, means such as a gear motor 37 may be mounted at the side of the housing, as by means of a bracket 3'8, with the output shaft 39 coupled to one of the roller shafts 24. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the motor and drive system are arranged to drive the various roller shafts at a rate which, if the rollers were fixed to the shafts, would cause fabric trained about the rollers to be advanced at a speed greater than desired.

Mounted on the upper and lower end walls 15, 16 of the housing are motors 40, 41 having rotor shafts projecting into the housing and mounting fan blades 42, 43 respectively. The fans 42, 43 are arranged to agitate the air within the housing violently, to maintain the enclosed atmosphere in a state of high turbulence. And, in this respect, the fans are advantageously arranged to direct opposed streams of air toward the center of the housing.

In accordance with the invention, means are provided for maintaining the atmosphere within the housing highly humidified. Advantageously, this is accomplished by providing a plurality of atomizer nozzles 44 at strategic locations Within the housing. In the illustrated apparatus nozzles 44 are mounted adjacent the upper and lower ends of the hous ng, by suitable brackets 45, 46. The nozzles 44 are located at the corners of the housing and are positioned to direct streams of finely atomized water toward the center.

The atomizing nozzles 44, which may be of conventional design, are connected to appropriate supplies of moisture and compressed air, so that moisture is dis charged therefrom in a finely atomized state, along with a stream of air. The described means for imparting mois ture to the air within the housing has been found to be highly effective, although it is contemplated that satisfactory results might be realized with other arrangements.

In the use of the new apparatus, a webof fabric is threaded through the entrance opening 11, adjacent the distribution.

upper end of the housing and is passed over the first I upper guide roller 21. The fabric is then passed sinuously, up and down, around successive guide rollers at the opposite ends of the housing, and the fabric passing around the last of the lower guide rollers 22 is passed over the exit guide roller '36 and out through the exit opening 12.

As a general rule, the moisturizing apparatus will form part of a fabric processing line, including means engaging the fabric before and after its passage through the housing 10. In any event, means are provided for feeding the fabric to, and carrying it away from the housing at a predetermined speed.

To aid the fabric in its passage through the housing, the gear motor drive 37 is energized, to rotate the several guide roller shafts in unison at a speed which tends to drive the guide rollers at a rate slightly higher than the predetermined rate of fabric movement. However, since the rollers are mounted on their respective shafts by the graphite bearings, the rotation of the rollers may be different than that of the shafts. The arrangement is such that the friction applied to thegraphit'e bearings 27 urges the fabric in an advancing direction, but with such a slight force that no substantial tensions are applied to the fabric. The improved drive arrangement also provides for independent rotation of the various guide rollersto accommodate any dimensional changes which may take place lengthwise of the fabric, during its passage through the housing.

When the apparatus is in operation, the fans 42, 43 are rotated to maintain the atmosphere enclosed within the 7 housing in a state 'of high turbulence, and finally atomized moisture is injected into the housing through the several nozzles 44. The highly turbulent, highly humidified air in the housing flows around and through the moving web of fabric and, in doing so, causes moisture to be absorbed by the fibers of the fabric in a highly uniform and effective manner. By way of example, it has been found that fabric moving in a period of about forty seconds through a housing have dimensions of approximately 8' by 4' by 4' may acquire 2 to 3 percent additional moisture, which is uniformly absorbed in the fibers. This amount of moisture absorption is ordinarily sufficient for commercial purposes, although greater absorption might be obtained,

where desired, as by increasing the length of time the fabric is within the housing, for example.

The method and apparatus 'of the invention may be used to great advantage in the finishing of various fabrics, and particularly knitted fabrics, where it 'is desired to It should be understood, however, that the form of the invention herein illustrated and described is intended to be representative only, as certain changes may be made therein without departing from the clear teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claim in determining the full scope of the invention.

We claim:

Apparatus for controllably raising the moisture content of knitted fabric, which comprises (a) a housing comprised of imperforate walls arranged to form an effectively completely enclosed and substantially unobstructed zonefor confining a predetermined body. of treating atmosphere,

(b) means comprising a plurality of guide rolls within the zone for supporting and passing the knitted fabric continuously through the zone in a sinuous path comprising a plurality of back and forth runs,

(0) means for injecting finely atomized moisture into the housing in open corner areas of the zone to create and maintain a predetermined moisture level in the confined body of treating atmosphere within the zone,

(d) said housing having an unobstructed interior configuration whereby the adjacent runs of the fabric are freely exposed to each other throughout their length, and

(e) agitation means within the housing for maintaining the confined body of moisture-laden atmosphere in a state of substantial random turbulence throughout said enclosed and unobstructed zone and causing the moisture-laden atmosphere to flow in random manner and at high velocity around and through the fabric,

(1) said agitation means comprising fans mounted at each end of the housing, adjacent said guide rolls, for directing streams of moisture-laden atmosphere toward the center of the housing and into the runs of the fabric. 7

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